As the leaves change color, hunters are reminded that their favorite season is upon them — hunting season — with a start date of Oct. 1 for most counties of New York for deer hunting. Although hunting may seem, at first glance, a low-tech sport, a company called Hunt N’ Buddy is revolutionizing the game by combining technology, socializing and hunting into one downloadable app.
Hunt N’ Buddy is a GPS based hunting app with a dedication to offer safety and communications to its customers. Joe Rogan, creator and founder, said he created the company because he saw a gap in the market.
“The reason I created this is, I’m a hunter myself and I do have some medical conditions and there was really nothing out there that helped people stay in contact with other hunters, like in real time so that was pretty much the basis of why I created the business and what it’s all about,” Rogan said. “It just kind of spiraled from there, but it’s more of a socially interactive platform than really any other software out there.”
Although there are other hunting apps, few compare to Hunt N’ Buddy which offers markers, tracking and a social element for customers.
“It’s very aggressive with the technology in the world right now, in the hunting field, because younger hunters, all the hunters, they are using it and realizing there is a need and it solves a lot of problems for using technology while in the woods, which typically you wouldn’t think,” Rogan said. “People have hunted forever, without any technology, right? But it does give you a benefit. It does give you an upper-hand.”
Rogan and his team are currently working on the development of the app after analyzing customer feedback and changes consumers wanted to make in the app. They’re completely rebuilding the framework. In their new launch, which is hopefully to be released within the next month, maps will be downloadable, while in service and with wi-fi, to save to one’s phone. When a hunter is in the field, most likely without any service, they can open the map, with any trackers and markers that were placed, and the phone will geolocate an individual to be able to navigate them accurately.
Rogan said the company is working on longer term technology and partnerships, as well, to strengthen the product even more.
When he first started out, Rogan developed the app and partnerships, but felt like he was missing some of the business structure. After a recommendation from a friend at Binghamton University, Rogan applied for the Koffman Incubator’s accelerator program. Rogan said he felt the passion and energy from the Incubator when he took his first class.
“I put my heart and soul into listening and learning and paying attention to that class and it really changed my whole mindset of just business and everything and why all this hard work, time and effort that I was watching fail because it just wasn’t structured properly,” Rogan said.
Rogan went on to say that it gave him clarity on his business structure, model and pitch. Ultimately, Rogan’s Hunt N’ Buddy found a home at the Incubator and, as he calls it, an “ultimate ecosystem that just breeds positive energy and production.”
The Hunt N’ Buddy app is available for download on Google Play and the App Store.
